Richest 1,000 People Have More Wealth Than Poorest 40%

Saturday, 6 May, 2017

The Equality Trust has today published its annual Wealth Tracker, analysing the extreme wealth of Britain's richest people.

This year it finds that the richest 1,000 people have more wealth than the poorest 40% of households [1]. The 1,000 richest saw their wealth increase by a staggering £82.5 billion last year, the equivalent of £226 million a day, or £2,615 a second.

The Equality Trust has found that this increase in wealth of £82.5 billion could:

Pay the energy bills [2] of all 25.6 million UK households for two and a half years. Cost = £79.15 billion OR

Provide 5,143,819 million Living Wage jobs [3], or 2,923,333 million jobs paid at an average salary [4] for a year. Cost = £82.476 billion OR

Pay the grocery bill for all of the UK’s users of food banks for 56 years [5]. Cost = £81.5 billion OR

"The super-rich continue to streak away from the rest of us, while the poorest see their wealth shrink. This is an economy working for the few, not the many.

"Record numbers of people visited food banks last year, millions are locked out of a decent home, and two thirds of children in poverty are in working households. All this in the fifth largest economy in the world, with a handful of super-rich 'elites' sitting on mountains of wealth.

"We know that inequality damages our economy and society, and makes it harder for ordinary people and their children to get on. With the General Election fast approaching our politicians need to decide the sort of country they want to build. One where we can all prosper, or one where we're picking crumbs from the super-rich's table."

Notes to editors

[1] All estimates of wealth of the 1,000 richest people are based on those published in the Sunday Times Rich List 2017. The 1,000 richest in Britain, according to the Sunday Times Rich List, are worth £658 billion. The measurement of British household wealth can be found here:

The Equality Trust is a registered charity that works to improve the quality of life in the UK by reducing economic inequality. UK income inequality is among the highest in the developed world and evidence shows that this results in poorer mental and physical health, higher violent crime, poorer educational outcomes and lower levels of trust. Inequality affects us all. For further comments or to arrange an interview, contact John Hood on 07580 651 337 or john.hood@equalitytrust.org.uk